Machine gun



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s sheets-sheen 1N VENTOR Walter TGorol A TT'ORNE Y April 26,1921. w' TGORTo-N MACHINE GUN' Filed Julylz, 1922 2 l 625 993 April 26 1,9 7 w. T.GoRToN 9 MACHINE GUN Filed Ju1y12, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E ,E www @n a 1r Sf f z gw/? w/ V y? yay/MZ V M WWJS. Tlill April 26 1927 w. T. GoRToNMACHINE GUN Filed Ju1yl2. 1922 3 SheetS-Sheet3 R Y W mm N IT A W W WM V.B

Patented Apr. '26, 1.927.

UNITED STATES WALTER T. GoBToN, oE'THE UNITED sTATEs aamgsrnnvermrn,mssAcHUsETTs.

MAcHINEeUx-t.

Applicationmea Ju1y112,v 1922. semi E. 574,588.1..

(GRANTED UNDEE TEE AcT or maca 12,1823;- 22 sTAT. L. 625.)

The subject of this invention is a machine lgun designed primarily foruse on aircraft.

. The gun is intended for -use as a fixed synchronized weapon andembodies features of construction which .experience has vshown to bedesirable and which can be obtained 1 v only with great diiiiculty, ifat all, in guns of the usual ground type -converted for aircraft use.Guns of this class are usually mounted in pairs side by side and sincethe space available for them and their ammunition boxes, synchronizinggears, and mounts is of necessity extremely limited, a symmetriealarrangement -of all this equipment is very useful. In order to obtainthis symmetrical arrangement special provision must be made inlcertainfeatures of the gun, principally in the means for feeding, ejection oflempty cartridge cases and the empty end of the cartridge belt, (whichmay be of either fabric or disintegrating metallic link con-l struction)at-tachment, and operation of the trigger motor and an arrangement ofthe handle bywhich manual o eration of the mechanism of a gun forloadlng and unloading and correction of stoppages is effected.`

Guns of this class are belt fed, the belt entering one side of the gunabove the breech of the barrel and being ejected from the opposite side.In orderto secure the object sought, provision for entry of the beltfrom either side is essential. The trigger motor is mounted u on theside and correspondingly, means or mounting it on either side areprovided. The empty cartridge cases are ejected from the bottom. Theoperating handle is located centrally with respect to the widthof thegun extending to the rear and downward from the cover, over which itextends as a slide to operate the bolt.

With these and other objects in view my invention resides in the novelarrangement and combination of parts and in -the details of constructionhereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be madewithin the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

One practical embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in longi-l place. `The trunnion block isbored for the tudinal section of a constructed in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 1A is a similar view of the muzzle and;muzz le gland;

Fig. 2 1s a planI view of a receiver partly 1n section on the line 2-2of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the receiver with the cover removed.v

Fig. 4 is a section onthe line 4 4 of I Fig. 5 is a plan View of thegun, the barrel and jacket removed.

ReferringV to the drawings by numerals of reference:

The receiver 1s an elongated rectilinear box consisting of side latesand bottom plate 11 suitably joine together as by riveting. The plateshave grooves cut in their inner faces adjacent their rear ends for thereception of tongues formed on the rear plate L2, which plate isassembled with the receiver by sliding it into place from above, and isheld in place by suitable means such as the catch 13 which hooks underthe rear edge of the bottom plate. The forward end of the receiver isclosed by a ltrunnion block 14 which may be conveniently riveted inreception of the breech end of the barrel 15' with a close sliding fitand also counterbored and tapped for threaded engagement with the rearend of the barrel jacket 16 as seen most clearly in Fig. 1.

Connected to the breech end of the barrel- 15, preferably byscrewthreads 17 is a barrel extension 18 which extends rearwardly andterminates adjacent the buffer 12". The rear portion of the barrelextension rests upon a lock frame 19 which is positioned inA the inabuts against the rear face of a de-l pen ing portion 23 of the barrelextension which portion is slotted as at 24 to receive the accelerator25 which is pivotally mounted inthe lock frame. The extension 18 is alsoslotted at 26 for the reception of a vertically sliding breech lock 27which is adapted to lock the breech bolt in its for# ward position andwhich is provided with the usual lock pin 30. For the purpose of recoilthe impulse of the expanding spring 22 forces the accelerator again intocontact with the cross bar 31 urgin the same and the barrel extensionforward..

The breech bolt 32 is mounted for reci rocation between the side bars ofthe barre eX- tension and has a longitudinal tongue or rib formed oneach side to engage in a slot 33 formed in the inner face of each sidebar.

A slot 34 is cut in the lower surface of the breech bolt in position toreceive the breech lock 27` when the breech bolt is in its forwardposition. Upon the bolt at its rear end is an upwardly projectingportion 35 slotted to receive the pivotally mounted Sear 36 in the formof a bell crank lever one end of which is adapted to engage in a notch37 cut in the upper surface of the firing pin 38 and the other arm ofwhich is formed with a V-shape front face extending into a complementalnotch formed in the rear edge of slide 39 which slide extends across theportion and slides in a groove formed therein, the ends of the slidepositioned adjacent the side plates of the receiver so as to be operatedupon by a trigger motor mounted on either side plate.

lVhen the Sear slide is forced .either to the right or the left the Vface on the sear rides along the inclined face of the recess in theslide rocking the sear on its pivot and releasing the firing pin.

The firing pin 38 is mounted for sliding movement in the bolt whichisbored longitudinally for its reception. The firing pln may be hollow andurged forwardly by resilient means; such as the coiled spring 40- whichis herein shown as housed within the pin and confined between a forwardabutment, specifically a rivet 4l locked in an aperture formed inthcpiu. and a pin 42 held in apertures formed in the bolt and passingthrough alining slots formed in the firing pin.

The firing pin is designed with a forwardly projecting pin 43 whichextends through an aperture formed in the forward end of the breech boltwhen the pin is in its forward position and primes the cartridge.

For the purpose of cockin the firing pin Vand also extracting a cartrige 44 from the tractor is rocked upon its pivot to ldepressed position.

The lever is formed with a curved upper end 48 which contacts the uppersurface of the cartridge case near the head thereof during extractionand positioning of the cartridge and also with laterally extending arms49 (see Fig. 4) formed at-either outer extremity with 11p-standing wings5 0 and ends 5l adapted to contact the cam surface about to bedescribed. Pivotally connected to upper end is a pair of curved aws 52adapted to embrace a cartridgeshell and prevent the cartridge fromfalling during the positioning operation.

Pivotally mounted in the breech bolt are spaced apart members 53 (seeFig. 3) each provided with an ordinary resiliently actuated hookextractor adapted to snap over the head of the cartridge as the boltmoves forwardly to breech closing f'position and into the cannelure ofthe cartridge to extract the cartridge as the bolt moves rearwardly onrecoil.

The member 46 is constrained to perform the operations above describedby' means of cam surfaces 54, 55 and 56 which are formed on or attachedto the side plates of the receiver. The cam 54 is engaged by theupstanding wings and upon recoil of the bolt, slightly depresses themember 46, forcing the cartridge from the extractor into a groove 57 cutin the front face of the bolt and adapted to receive the head of thecar-i tridge.' On counter-recoil the ends 51 engage thc cam surface 55further depressing vthe member 46 and moving the cartridge downwardly inthe groove to position to enter the cartridge chamber.' Near the end ofthe counter-recoil the' ends 51 encounter cam surfaces 56 which causeelevation of the member 46 to its original position ready to act. on thenext cartridge extracted from the belt. As will be understood the ribs,dcfining the side of the grooves 57 engage iu the cannclure of the,cartridge shell and serve to extract the shell from the cartridgechamber after the cartridge has been fired.

The receiver is closed by a cover 58 formed on its under surface withspaced apart longitudinally extending ribs 59 forming a support andslideway for a casing 6() whichv houses the recoil spring 6l guided by aguide pin or rod 62 which ma)r be conveniently this lll() .formed in therear end of a `cam plate 66 which cam plate also slides in the groovesyof the ribs 59, the purpose of such connection being to constrain fthecam plate to travel with the casing during recoil and counter-recoil,

The'cam plate may contain cutout portions 67 for the purpose of reducingweight,

and is also formed with a cam slot 68 which is cut entirely through theplate so that by' reversing the plate the cam slot is reversed andoperates the member controlled thereby in the reverse direction. l

The cartridge belt feeding mechanism, which is controlled by the camplate 66, com prises a slide 69 mounted to reciprocate transversely ofthe receiver and formed with an upstandin boss or lug 70 which entersthe slot 68. belt feeding pawl 71 is pivotally mounted on the slide 69and engages the belt and a cartridge on forward movement to feed thebelt into the receiver with a step' by step motion and rideslover thebelt` and a cartridge on its reverse orrearward movement. To permit ofreversal of this move#- ment, which allows the belt to be fed to the gunfrom either side, the feed pawl and slide are similar with respect totheir'longitudinal axis so that theymay be inserted in the guide-way onthe cover from either side. The belt stop dog or pawl 72 with itsbrackets 73 may be attached to either side plate of the receiver and thefront and rear cartridge stops 74 and 75, respectively, may be attachedto either side by either screws or pins.

For convenience 1n operating t'ne gun to load, unload and correctstoppages, a slide 76 (see Fig. 5) is provided formed with a grip 77extending adjacent the rear of the gun and havin its forward end engagedover a lug 78 (Flg. 1) rising from the casing 60 and adapted toreciprocate in a slot 79 cut in the top plate. By grasping the grip anddrawing the slide completely to the rear the bolt is drawn back tofullrecoil position, and a cartridge carried with it and'positioned to entertle cartridge chamber when the members are allowed to assume normalposition under theimpulse of the recoil spring. To effect unloading ofthe chamber of the gun, the handle is grasped 'and the slide drawncompletely to the rear thenallowed to move forward until the rear notch8O in the slide is engaged with the guile 82 and the slide agaln drawncoinpletely to the rear and allowed to spring forward. On the `first ofthese rearward movements a cartridge is extracted from the belt and, onthe subsequent forward movement is partially inserted in the chamber.vHowever, thefrear notch of the slide is so positioned that when engagedlby the rear guide the next Kcartridge in the slot is not gripped by theextractor, consequently, on thesecond rearward movementof the slide nonew cartridge is taken from the'belt, and the live round which had beenpreviously partially inserted in the chamber is eX- tracted and ejected,leaving the gun' unloaded.

I claim.: A

1. A machinegun, embodying cartridge feeding-mechanism, a reversible camplate for operating said mechanism either right handed or left handed, abreech bolt',a con-- nection between the breech bolt and cam platewhereby 'tn'e bolt and plate are operated in unison', a firing' pin inthe bolt, a-

combined cart idge extracting and firing pin cocking member mountedinthe bolt, a seal' mounted in the bolt and engageable with the foroperating said mechanism either right handed or left handed, a breech"bolt, a conneet-ion between lthe breech bolt and cam plate whereby thebolt' and plate operate in unison, a firin'" pin mounted in the bolt, asear for holdin the firing -piny in cocked position and a sli e fortripping the sear, oper-1 able from either the right or' left hand sideof the gun. f

3. A machine gun. embodying vcartridge feeding mechanism, la reversiblecam plate for operating said mechanism either right handed or lefthanded, and a. breech bolt connected to sard cam plate.

4. A machine gun, embodyino` reversible cartridgefeeding mechanism, abreech bolt,

. means connected tothe breech bolt and operable therewith for`actuating me feeding mechanism ei-ther right handed or lett handed. aSear and a'trip for the sear operable from either the Vright hand orleft hand side of thegun. y l

5. A machine gun, embodying a reversible cartridge feeding mechanism,recoil operated means for actuating the feeding mechanisln either righthanded or 'left 'handed and `means for manually operating saidfrstpmen-v tioned means. 6.. A machinegun, embodying a reversiblecartridge feeding mechanism, means for actuatingv the 'feedingmechanismeither right handed or left handed and means for manuallyoperating 'said first mentioned means.

7. A machine gun, embodying a reversible cartridge feeding mechanism andmeans for actuating said mechanism either right handed or left handed. A

8. A machine gun, embodying a reversible cartridge feeding mechanism,and reversible means for actuatingsaid mechanism either right handed orleft handed.

9. In amachine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel and mechanism for automaticallyfeeding cartridges' into said channel from left to right, or vice versa,said mechanism comprising a Vreciprocating member carrying means adaptedto be reversed when it is desired to change the direction of feed.

10. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse Cartridge feeding channel and mechanism for, at will,feeding` cartridges-into said channel from left to right, or vice versa,said mechanism comprising "a reciprocating member carrying a reversiblecam plate.

11. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel, with means for, at

-Will, feeding cartridges into said channel from left to rlght, or viceversa, said means comprising a reversible feed slide carrying a feedpawl, and a reciprocating member for .xctuating said slideautomatically.

12. In a machine'gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel and mechanism for, at Will, feedingcartridges into said channel from left to right, or vice versa, saidmechanism comprising a reciprocatin member carrying a Hat plate adaptedt0 Ine reversed When it is 4desired to change the direction of feed andhaving a cam slot opening into each face thereof.

13. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel, reversible mechanism for feedingcartridges into said channel, means to actuate said mechanism forfeeding said cartridges from left to right, or vice versa, and a feedextractor adapted to cooperate -with said means regardless of thedirection it feeds.

14. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel, and means for automaticallyfeeding a cartridge belt into said channel from left to right, or viceversa, as desired, said means comprising a reversible feed slide and afeed pawl carried thereby, a stop paWl for prevent-ing retrogrademovement of said cartridge'belt, and cartridge stops for preventingover-feeding moven'ient of said' cartridge belt, and for l insuringproper alignment of the cartridges with the central vertical plane ofthe gun, said stop paWl and the cartridge stops being arranged,respectively, on opposite sides of the gun and so constructed andmounted as to permit their transfer t0 the opposite sidesof the gun,respectively, when the feed slide is reversed, thereby adapting saidparts for cooperation with said slide for either direction of feed.

15. In an automatic gun the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel, amechanism for at will feedingcartridges into said channel from left to right, or vice versa, and aneX- tractor operable irrespective of the direction of feed.

16. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridgey feeding channel, a mechanism for at Will feedingcartridges into said channel from leftto right or vice versa, and meansfor actuating said mechanism irrespective of the direction of feed.

-17 In a machine gun, the coinbination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel, and mechanism depending on itsposition for feeding cartridges into said channel from left to right orvice versa.

18. In a machine gun, the combination of a breech casing having atransverse cartridge feeding channel and a mechanism for feedingcartridges into said channel from left to right or vice versa.

f WALTER T. GORTON.

